Review by SueW:
The Nokia Theatre is a very state-of-the-art building but it's well away from anything else so you have no alternative but to park there and they charge you $12 for the privilege - that's the sort of thing they do in England! I didn't expect it over here too!

On the summary of the venue which I posted on KasimInfo.com earlier today (I do one the day of the concert for each venue which Kasim plays), it said that no seat is supposed to be more then 212 feet from the stage but I had no idea that 212 feet is so far! We entered from the back and that is a long distance to view! I'd bought a ticket as soon as they went on sale on 17th March and mine was in Row B but it turns out that that was the front row which was a nice surprise! I'd paid the basic $95 price but others in the same row had paid over $300 (although they got a pre-concert party but no Meet and Greet included).

One of the things I didn't mention in my review yesterday was that they have a lot of merchandise available. Some is Blondie, some The New Cars and some Blondie and The New Cars (things like a Road rage Tour T-shirt). However the merchandise is quite pricey. They also have The New Cars unreleased album available for $18.

The concert started about 10 minutes late tonight at 8.10pm and I'm pretty sure that Blondie played the same set as they did last night but tonight Deborah Harry seemed far more animated on stage to me. I felt that last night there wasn't much passion in her singing but there certainly was tonight. (She wore the same outfit and I think I made a mistake yesterday as her hair is more album than blonde.)

There was a great turnout of Blondie fans tonight and they were very vocal but I felt sorry for them as security was SO strict. Everytime someone tried to get to the front, security were on them. There were also signs all over that no cameras were allowed and whenever someone tried taking a photo, again security were all over them like a rash. I'd love to know who makes up these rules as last night Deborah Harry was posing for photos so obviously she can't mind and someone I spoke to said that other artists at this venue have allowed photography. (When I went into the venue the guard searched my handbag and asked if I had a camera phone. That seemed weird to me as I had a carrier bag in my other hand that she didn't search which contained my camera and yet she never asked if I had an actual camera!) Anyway when Blondie returned for their encore, a swarm of people came down to the front and security were overwhelmed.

I'm still amazed at how many hits Blondie must have had (at least in England) as I recognised so many of their songs. It also helps that Deborah Harry pronounces her words so clearly so you can make out what she's singing (plus the sound was good during their set).

Blondie's drummer is very good and really holds the band together but his drumkit is surrounded by Perspex and he wears very thick headphones. The band's guitarist is very nice on the eye plus has a lovely voice but their bassist is almost invisible. He plays his part fine but I almost forget he's on stage - it just emphasises how much stage presence Kasim has!

After Blondie had finished, they closed the curtains so that they could get the stage ready without us watching. People who attended the package party said that they were told there had been some delay today and they were late setting up. I heard a couple of different reports and I'm not sure if it was just the crew or the band too but apparently they were expected at the venue early this morning and didn't get there until 2.00pm.

When the curtains opened again, all the band were already on stage in position. The set was slightly different from last night as tonight there were 6 video screens (last night there were 4) and both Prairie's drumkit and Greg's keyboard shelf were encased in massive silver hoops.

I think that compared to last night, tonight's was the slightly better concert. However I preferred last nights because as soon as the curtains opened, loads of people swarmed and it got very crowded at times at the front (especially as my seat was in front of Todd) and especially as some people had obviously had a drink or 6. With all the negativity from fans that has surrounded this tour, it is so great to see that the band are obviously enjoying playing and the audience are loving it too.

My only complaint about this concert was that the sound was very bad which was such a shame as this is such a modern facility. Someone told me afterwards that during the first song there was problems with the drums distorting the sound but the main thing I noticed was how low the vocals were in the mix all set. I don't know most of The Cars songs very well and I could hardly make out what Todd was singing at times as the instruments drowned him out. Even worse was when Kasim sang All Mixed Up as he could hardly be heard and he's said himself that he sings pretty loud. Maybe they hadn't turned up his microphone from when he was singing background vocals?? Greg Hawkes switches to saxophone for that song and again I could hardly hear it even though that instrument is a major part of the song. Tonight Todd sang Hello Again perfectly and the only mistake I noticed was that in one song near the end of the set (I don't remember which), he came in slightly too early on the first line so he stopped and then carried on at the right time.

Kasim's obviously been taking his Sanatogen Tablets again as he was bounding all over the stage like a 10 year old! I really can't get over how nice it is to see him obviously enjoying the concerts (he's smiling constantly)! There was a child being held up near him and during Good Times Roll Kasim was encouraging him to sing the audience part! Kasim made at least two new fans tonight as the sister and niece of a friend of mine attended the concert and afterwards they kept saying how "hot" he is ("charismatic" is another word they used) - this is both the mother and daughter! They put his age at only about 40 too.

I didn't hear much of The Cars music in the 80s but the one song I did know (everybody in UK did) was Drive as it was used to such effect during Live Aid. Consequently for me that song has always been associated with that video and those images. However hearing Kasim sing it is just wonderful to hear as his warm voice portrays the emotions in that song perfectly. (That's not a song Todd's harsher voice would suit at all IMHO.) I was standing near some Cars fans during Drive and they raved over how well Kasim sang it after obvious initial trepidation.

Bang The Drum is a nice interval in the set. It's one of my least favourite Todd songs (and I've heard it too many times for my liking live) but the way they perform it is great fun! Todd uses the microphone for the verses but then stands back so that he, Kasim, Elliot and Greg can all sing slightly back from the microphone for the chorus. (As the sound wasn't good today I could actually hear them clearer and louder singing in person than I did through the PA system!) It seems to be the thing that someone throws the tambourine to Kasim (and he later throws it back to them) so I'm waiting for the concert when he doesn't catch it and it sails into the audience!

It still seems strange to me that Todd hardly plays any guitar solos but as Elliot was the guitarist in The Cars, it's understandable and he's a very gifted musician. He seems to really enjoy his time in the spotlight and during one very long guitar solo, it was obvious that other band members thought he'd played for too long! Elliot's worn white shoes at both the concerts so far so it looked as though he's just finished a game of Bowls! It's also nice to see that a few times in the set Kasim will stand over and share Elliot's microphone with him or Elliot will move over to Kasim's side and they'll often chat during guitar parts - there seems to be a good rapport on stage with all the band.

Tonight they didn't seem to encourage the audience to sing as much of Good Times Roll as they did in Tunica.

The people in Texas (or at least the fans at this concert) seem to be a very friendly bunch of people and it was nice to finally meet so many people who I've read posts from online. Where else but at a concert can two adults have the conversation "Are you SueW? I'm Fierce Realities"!

Roll on Pala on Tuesday!

Kasim Sulton:
Kasim Sulton described this concert here as "We played our second show last night here in Dallas (actually Grand Prairie but we'll just say Dallas). It's been brought to my attention that it looks like I'm having a good time on stage ... That I'm smiling a lot. Well ... It's FUN! Besides the fact that the songs are quite upbeat and for lack of a better word, 'happy'. So why wouldn't I be smiling? The musicianship in this band is top-notch, no one is on a 'star-trip' and the main objective is to make the songs sound great, not make the individual sound great. THAT is what makes a great band."

There's a photo of Kasim backstage at this concert here.

Kasim Sulton also described this concert here as "In my opinion, the first show in Tunica MS. Was ... well, the first show. Not bad at all."

Comments about this gig posted on messageboards and mailing lists include:

Other Websites
TRConnection.com has a photo of Bang The Drum by Debi Adams.

This is a great photo by Debi Adams of Todd Rundgren and Kasim Sulton.

The New Cars Road Rage Tour